indonesia, india, thailand, sari lanka the hardest hit. it was one of the deadliest natural disasters in recorded history. heather: well, there's a tiny town out west that has undergone a major transformation from a virtual ghost town to a booming, high-tech town. anita vogel is live in los angeles with more on how they did this. >> reporter: this is truly a unique story about how one man stumbled across this virtual ghost town nearly 30 years ago and since then has managed to turn it into a high-tech oasis in the desert. harold freeman was prospecting for gold back in 1984 when he happened upon the tiny town of nipton, california. >> very much distressed. the hotel had been condemned by the county as a structure, and none of the buildings worked. >> reporter: the cal tech-trained geologist bought the town for $200,000 and has spent more than 25 years and $1 million to restore it, installing solar panels to power the whole town, e representing eco-cabins based on designs by frank lloyd wright and setting up wi-fi for all the residents. and